Artist Statement
In my creative practice, I have always leaned heavily on stories about my ancestral past, my own
memories, and the power of imagination. Often, I mix what I see in the physical waking world with
dreams and moments between sleep and consciousness when light and shadow offer the most
compelling opportunities for transcendence.
This luminous place relates to my focus as an architect where the power of imagination through
alternative perspectives easily segued into my practice as an artist. Here I have concentrated on nature,
light, and space, and the decisions we make when we are passing through “inbetween spaces”: those
moments when we move from one space to the next, when the light opens up or closes down and we
become hyper-aware of our surroundings. This is not unlike our lives in transition, when we are heading
down a certain path but suddenly feel compelled to walk through the untrodden meadow searching and
hoping for something wild and unexpected. Many of my pieces explore these dreamlike experiences
where the will and acceptance collide.
The paintings Listen (2025), Making Peace (2026) and Pink Cake (2026) are part of a recent series that
add a layer of exploration into the interconnectedness of life. To me, the women in these paintings are
quietly holding up the world and protecting us. They are a part of nature, as are the animals, who are
central characters. The animals are always messengers, storytellers, and deep thinkers. They free us to
trust our intuition. They compel us to be our wild selves. Of course I want to be the animal, and this is
what I want to investigate while making these pieces.
About the Artist
Lisa Mullikin was born in Washington, DC and received her Masters of Architecture from the
University of Maryland. She worked in Washington, London, New York, San Francisco,
Louisiana and Tennessee as an architect and teacher. Her focus has been on historical
restoration and sustainable design. Lisa began her painting career by taking classes at the San
Francisco Art Institute while she was working as an architect in historic restoration. She later
studied art at the universities where she was teaching architecture and was introduced to plein
air in Louisiana and printmaking in East Tennessee. She now works as a full time artist in
Wilmington, North Carolina at Acme Studios as an oil painter. She is most interested in how
memory and anticipation influence present perception, and this is explored through landscape,
abstract and figurative work.
